Building Blocks
by Luna-Cullen14
Summary: Edward is living the hard life with his abusive father, until one day he strikes out on his own, where will his journey take him? Bella is surrounded by loved ones, living soundly, what happens when a charming bronze haired boy arrives in rainy Forks?
1. Chapter 1 Gone

**Hey Everyone! I hope you have all enjoyed my stories so far, Almost Impossible, Promise to Smile, and Living Loving Breathing Together. This one is a new one, that I decided to write after seeing a movie about child abuse. I thought it could be a cool story line. I'm almost absolutely sure that this story will end happily, so never fear! I know it's sad, but it's worth it in the end, I think. So here it is, and I hope you like it! It's B+E POV's. I do not own Twilight or any of the characters in this chapter!! And the names and characters Lily and James belong to the lovely J.K Rowling :)**

EPOV

(Huntsville, Alabama)

I came down the stairs, hoping to catch a glimpse of my father before he left for work, but instead saw nothing. Nothing but the tacky curtains and stained couch, the old TV and neglected magazines. I sighed, and my mind spun, a flashback filling my head.

_I sat at the kitchen table, my plump baby hands in front of me, playing with a few wooden blocks. I stacked them as high as they could go, before knocking them down again. I giggled halfheartedly, sighing as I built them up once more. A scream echoed through my small house, causing me to flinch, my eyes tearing up. Not again. My mother flew down the short staircase, my father hot on her heels. She carried a suitcase into the clothing strewn living room, of which I had a clear view, and started throwing fabric in haphazardly. My father shouted loudly, scaring me with each accusation. _

"_What do you think you're doing, Lily?!!" he yelled angrily, throwing himself at my mother. She swung her long red hair around, dodging him. "Lily, stop or else!!" he yelled again, this time almost catching her._

"_Fine, you slut. Go, leave me, leave Edward." I closed my eyes. Mama would never leave me._

"_James, I can't do it anymore..." she whispered, pausing to look my father in the eyes._

"_Do what, Lily?" he screeched, his face red with anger._

"_Live like this. This isn't what I wanted. Not for me, not for Edward." _

"_What are you saying?" asked my father, fuming._

"_I'm depressed James, can't you see it? Nothing is the way it used to be. I wake up every morning and wonder why I'm here, what am I doing? I look at you, and Edward, and wish I could live the life I made for myself. But I can't James, I just can't anymore." she said quickly, tears streaming down her face. _

_My father stuttered, not knowing what to say. Tears now wet my face as well, I didn't understand, I was only three. _

"_Lily...don't leave me...please." my father whispered, every trace of anger gone from his eyes, they now showed only hurt and love. Love for my mother._

"_I'm sorry, James." she said firmly. No. I couldn't let her do it. I ran as fast as my baby legs could carry me, racing towards her. "Damn, he saw me." she said, wiping her tears. I tugged on the leg of her dark jeans._

"_Mama, where are you going?" I asked her, unable to contain my tears now._

"_Edward honey, please don't cry..." she whispered, pushing her bronze hair out of her face._

"_Mama...don't leave again." I said quietly, looking down at my bare toes._

"_Sweetheart, I have to go." she said abruptly. She pushed me away from her, and the distance between us only grew larger as I dropped my clutching hands. She grabbed her suitcase, and fled, looking back only once on us, her jade green eyes sorry._

"_Mama..." I whispered as she closed the door behind herself. My father screamed in rage, and tore open the door once more, screaming after the car, as it drove down the road, over the speed limit. _

"_Screw you, Lily! Leave me with the baby! He's good for nothing! Take him with you! I don't want him!" he yelled, about me. I sobbed, and broke apart. No one wanted me, no one ever would. My Mama had left me, she didn't care. My Daddy looked at me angrily, violence in his almost black eyes. Why me? I had no one._

I winced at the painful memory, and entered the quiet kitchen, the same kitchen where I had once stacked blocks. That was 11 years ago now. 11 years since mother left us, and I was abandoned here with my father. My now 14 year old self bent over to grab the cereal, and gasped in pain. I lifted up my shirt, to see purplish black bruises, dotting my stomach and abs, throbbing painfully. I poured myself a bowl of cornflakes, and sat down at the table, munching them lazily. In a way, I was thankful my father had already left for work, knowing that if he had been here, I probably would have received a couple of extra bruises, and I really didn't need that right now. But a part of me longed to see him every morning, foolishly hoping he would be nice for once, give my a pat on the back, and laugh about the articles in the paper, like normal dad's. I sighed, laughing darkly at myself. Who was I kidding? He had probably left drunk anyways, I thought, glancing at the empty bottles cluttered on the counter. I washed my now empty cereal bowl, and made my way back upstairs, it was Saturday, I had nothing to do. Fortunately, my father worked weekends at the warehouse. I walked into my room, and caught a glimpse of my dismal reflection, staring at me from the mirror. Messy, bronze hair and green eyes, high cheekbones and relatively pale skin, dotted with cuts and healing bruises. Sighing, I flopped down on my bed, wincing at the pain in my stomach, and fell back asleep.

BPOV

(Forks, Washington)

I rose slowly out of bed, and rubbed my eyes. Saturday, finally. No school! I thought happily, and bounced down the stairs in my sweatpants.

"Morning, Dad!" I said cheerily, and sat down opposite him at the kitchen table.

"Morning, Bells." he greeted me, his eyes on the paper in front of him. I yawned and curled a piece of my hair around my finger, humming a melody. My stomach gurgled, and I sighed, standing up reluctantly to grab myself some breakfast. I was going to see Alice today, I thought joyfully, smiling at the thought of seeing my best friend. It was a happy sort of day today, and I knew exactly why. Yesterday there had been a party. Yesterday I had been at the party with Mike Newton. Yesterday Mike Newton had kissed me. I glowed at the thought. My first kiss, and I had only been 14. I had been kissed before Rosalie for heaven's sake! I didn't plan on telling Emmett about my kiss, he would surely seek Mike out, and I didn't like the thought of Emmett's brawn against Mike's still developing muscles. I wondered when he would get around to kissing Rose. He wanted to, that's for sure, and she wanted to, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it, it was sad really.

Emmett was my twin brother, my other half in most ways. We shared everything, and did almost everything together. Just then, he came waltzing down the stairs, and sat himself down in my recently vacated spot.

"Em! That was my spot!" I complained jokingly.

"Sorry Bells, you snooze, you lose!"

"But I'm not snoozing, I'm getting breakfast for your information, and come to think of it, I don't think I'll offer to get you any!" I said smugly, smirking at my brother.

"Fine, I can get it faster than you anyway!" he said, launching for the cereal I had been about to grab. His hand closed around it, and he pulled it out of my reach. "HAH! Told you, Bella!" he said, looking smug.

"Fine, you win." I grumbled, sitting down in a different spot, as he poured me a bowl of cheerios.

"As usual!" he said, chuckling. I stuck out my tongue at him, and dug in to my breakfast. Dad got up slowly, stretching.

"I have to go into work today, kids." he told us. "Officer Berkley wants some work done." Emmett and I nodded, our mouths full of cheerios. "Be good, okay?" he told us, giving us a stern look. I rolled my eyes, what trouble could we possibly get into, it was Forks for heaven's sake.

"Yes, Dad." I promised none-the-less, knowing he worried. Em just nodded tiredly. Dad locked the door behind him, and I brought my bowl to the sink, shuffling my feet.

"What you up too today, Bells?" asked Emmett.

"Going to see Alice, you?" I asked him back, hoping he would say he was hanging out with Rose, maybe then he would kiss her...but no.

"Going to the beach with Jazz." he replied casually, imitating my motions with his bowl, and bouncing up the stairs to his bedroom. I checked the clock hanging above the stove, and figured I had better get ready as well, Alice would be here in half an hour, and I was guessing she wouldn't be a minute late. I headed upstairs, and looked out the window, rainy as usual. I sighed, and decided to stay in my cozy sweats. I pulled on a plain purple t-shirt, and brushed my chocolate hair, so that it was somewhat presentable. Sure enough, as soon as I was ready, the doorbell rang, and I rushed down the stairs to greet Alice. I caught a glimpse of the clock, she was 15 minutes early…how odd. I opened the door, and it wasn't Alice I saw staring back at me, it was Rosalie, her golden locks somewhat damp from the rain.

"Rose! Why are you here?" I asked curiously, although I already knew the answer.

"Your big teddy of a brother, of course!" she told me, shaking her head. I smiled, and let her in.

"He's hanging out with Jazz today...dunno what they're doing..." I informed her, and she nodded.

"I know, we just need to talk." she said, smiling somewhat halfheartedly. Talk? It couldn't be anything too bad, I assured myself. Emmett and Rose had been infatuated with each other since grade 4, flirting and goofing around since age 9. I smiled, remembering those days. Our little group had been close, even then. Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, and myself. We had met in kindergarten, connecting somehow, and had been best friends ever since. I gave Rose a quick hug, and watched her disappear around the corner to find Emmett. As I sat down at the kitchen table to wait for Alice, I heard Emmett's big booming voice as he registered Rose's presence, and her giggle.

"ROSIE!" he shouted, and I shook my head, laughing. The doorbell rang again, and this time, I knew it was Alice. I opened it wide, and admitted her inside. She shook out her short, pixie-like hair, and smiled.

"Hey Bella!" she chirped, hugging me tightly around the waist. I responded with the same enthusiasm, chuckling.

"Ali! I have so much to tell you!" I told her, thinking of Mike.

"Oh Goody! Girl talk!" squealed Alice. I harrumphed.

"Well…yeah I guess…but do we have to use that term?" I asked grudgingly.

"Bella, when are you going to realize you're a girl?!" she asked me exasperatedly.

"Alice I'm pretty sure I know I'm a girl." I told her, rolling my eyes.

"I mean a girl who likes shopping and stuff!" she complained. I chuckled.

"Well, I do live with Emmett." I said, and she smiled, tugging me out the door. "Bye Em!" I yelled back at my brother, signaling that I was going.

"See Ya Bells." He said lazily. Alice pulled me the rest of the way out the door, and I shut it behind us.

"Where too Ali?" I asked her, and she put a small finger to her forehead, thinking.

"My house?" she asked, and I smiled, I was always happy to see Mrs. Brady. She had been my mother in many ways since my own had died when I was 6, and not to mention the fact that she made excellent lasagna, I thought to myself.

**Thanks for reading! Next chapter up soon. REVIEWS??? **


	2. Chapter 2 Tunnels

**Hey guys! Hope you liked the first chapter! And now here's another! Thank you! All charcters in this chapter belong to Stephenie Meyer! I will never be as good an author as her! 3 **

EPOV

I woke up again 2 hours later, and sat up slowly, careful not to hurt the bruises that were now growing larger on my stomach. I groaned and stood up, scratching my head in a lazy sort of way, and shuffling my way over to the dresser at the other end of my small room to change my shirt. My room was messy, clothes lay on the floor, unwashed or too small, and bits of garbage clung to the gray carpet. My father was constantly complaining about the state of my room, but never did he take a look at what the rest of the house looked like, which was worse than this. My crappy old acoustic guitar leaned against the wall in one corner of my room, beat up and breaking. I had seen it one day 2 years ago, being played by a homeless man on the street. When I saw it, I knew I immediately had to have it. It wasn't the prettiest thing, but it had some sort of magic about it, some attraction I couldn't explain. I had offered all the pocket money I had with me to the homeless man, in exchange for the guitar. He willingly obliged, throwing the instrument into my awaiting hands, and I had hurried home, eager to try and play. To my delighted surprise, I quickly figured out the chords, and what sounds the strings made when you touched them a certain way. The music came naturally, and I found myself spending all my free time composing new melodies or rythms to try out. The problem was that my dad hated when I played it. He hated the noise, the sound, the music. I didn't understand how you could ever hate such a sweet sound, but refrained from strumming it when he was in earshot.

I glanced at it longingly, aching in my heart. I wanted to play it so badly. But I had some unfinished homework, and Mrs. Dunsmuir, my teacher, wouldn't be too happy if I showed up Monday morning with no work done, again. I sighed, and dug the crumpled sheets out of my backpack. I hated school more than anything. I had no friends, no girlfriends, nothing at all. I refused to let myself socialize with anyone, afraid of what they would think of me, my house, my father. I sat down at my desk to work on the homework, slowly and carefully filling in the answers. It took longer than I had expected, and when I was finished, I heard the door slam downstairs. My father was home early.

"Edward!" he called drunkenly from the bottom of the stairs. Damn, he had been drinking at work again. I didn't want to have to deal with him now.

"Yes Dad?" I answered tentatively.

"Get down here! Now!" he yelled. I winced, and crept carefully down the stairs, looking my dad straight in the eyes. He didn't share my looks at all. I got most of them from my mother. The messy dark bronze hair and bright green eyes were hers. But I had my father's cheekbones, and his pale skin.

"What er' you doin boy?" asked my father, spitting on the ground.

"Finishing my homework…" I said.

"Homework!" he scoffed. "Probably up there composing god knows what, calling them masterpieces…" He mumbled. I glared, but quickly turned it into an innocent expression as he looked up again.

"Dad I was working." I said firmly. He shook his head.

"Don' believe it." He almost fell over. "Music. Puh! Filthy stuff. Too happy, makes me sick." He said, and I had to control my anger by clenching my fists tightly.

"It's what I like to do, Dad…" I told him, hoping for once he'd understand. Of course not.

"And you think I give a damn what you like? Your mother, she liked music. You wanna play it? Run away like her then. Leave me as well. Go. I don't care." He spat the words out, alcohol making its presence clear as he slurred the syllables. I swayed on the step I was standing on, he had hit a nerve. My mother had left. Left me, left him, left everything she had behind. I tried not to think about her too often.

"Don't you talk about her like that! She loved us!" I screamed at him. His eyes turned glassy, and he smacked me across the face. It stung, but it wasn't the worst I had ever received.

"You call what she did _love_, boy? She didn't care about neither of us. You'd better get that straight in that small head of yours. She's never coming back to us." He said, putting emphasis on the word 'Never'. I flinched as his fist came down hard on top of my head. The room swam before me, there was two of everything. I recovered quickly, and ran back upstairs to my room, shutting and locking the door behind me. I heard my father mutter something unintelligible, and then make his way into the kitchen. I was breathing hard. I couldn't take this anymore. I replayed the words my dad had said in my head, like a broken record. _Your mother, she liked music. You wanna play it? Run away like her then. Leave me as well. Go. I don't care. _

I needed to get away from here. I needed to never see this house again, never speak to my father again. I thought about taking his advice, why didn't I leave? I was 14 now, and old enough to make it on my own. I didn't need to be here anymore, there was nothing for me. As for school, I never learned anything anyways, I got my information from the books I rented from the library. They probably wouldn't even notice I was gone. The freak, Edward Cullen didn't matter much to them. In fact, he didn't matter much to anyone, did he? Well then that left me free to leave. No one would be missing me, or looking for me. I dumped out the contents of my backpack, and filled it with essentials. Clean, warm clothing, a map of the U.S, and all the money I had stashed in my drawer from mowing the neighboor's lawns. I pulled on a hoodie, and threw my backpack over my shoulder. Grabbing my guitar, I opened my door a crack. My father was sitting on the sofa, watching pro wrestling. He would notice me no matter what, so I figured it couldn't be too bad, and strode down the steps. I passed him, and had almost reached the door when he called out angrily.

"Where do you think you're going, Edward?" he asked, using my real name, instead of 'boy'. I stuffed my hands in my pockets.

"I don't know. Away from here." I told him, and turned to leave. I felt his rough hand on my shoulder, pulling me backwards.

"Oh no you're not!" he screamed at me, slapping me again.

"You can't stop me, Dad. I'm leaving, like Mom. I can't take this." My fathers face went limp, as if someone had injected him with a painkilling needle. He dropped his hand off my shoulder, and backed away, shaking his head.

"Go." He said simply, calm anger flashing in his eyes. A shiver of fear tingled down my spine, and just like that, I turned my back on him, twisting the doorknob, and pulling open the door.

"Goodbye, Dad." I said, and walked outside, closing the door behind me. I rubbed my cheek, it stung, but not too badly. Other than that, I felt wonderful for the first time in 11 years. I felt free, and the whole world was open to me now. I strode down the street, swinging my guitar lazily, and humming a tune I couldn't remember what from. I thought out my plan, what did I need? I looked around, I had made my way into town, and the streets were bustling with people. I sat down, and counted my crumbled bills. I had just about 275$, two years worth of lawn mowing money. A ticket for a flight from Huntsville to just about anywhere in the U.S cost around 100$ more than that. I was stuck, I didn't have enough money to get anywhere, and I knew I needed to get out of Alabama, this whole place reminded me of my childhood. I needed to go somewhere different, somewhere cold? Wet? Anywhere would do. I took out my map, and skimmed over it with my eyes. The cheapest flight would be somewhere close, but I wanted somewhere far away. It had to be someplace a 14 year old could make it on his own, definitely not somewhere like L.A…I ran my finger over the states closest to Canada, Idaho…Montana…Washington! I had always heard that Washington was safe, and commercial, a place with tourists. That sounded nice, lush and green, not dry and dirty like Alabama. Well, I had decided, Washington, here I come.

But first, there was the money situation that had to be regulated. I needed 100 dollars, and fast. I glanced down at my beat up guitar, and an idea came to me. I could busk for money! It would take a while but eventually I could earn the money. Making up my mind, I stood up and brushed the dust off the seat of my pants, then started down the road again, looking for someplace to set up. Somewhere busy would be best, so I went in the direction of the plaza.

I came around the corner, and there it was, bustling with people young and old, and the perfect spot to be noticed. I found a grassy square, and sat down, pulling out my hardly ever worn baseball cap from my backpack, and setting it down in front of me. I positioned my guitar comfortably on my lap, and began to strum one of my made up songs, humming softly along to the melody. People's heads started to turn as they walked by, noticing me in the slightest way, but never stopping to throw a coin into the hat. I sighed as I played, wishing someone would at least throw _something_.

I played louder, faster, and then it happened. People gradually slowed down in front of me, staring at me curiously. Eventually, somebody would throw a coin, or sometimes even a bill. I was filled with hope and joy as I took in what was happening. They liked my music. Someone in the world recognized it, someone thought it was worthy of money. Of course, they were probably also feeling sorry for me. I was only fourteen, and busking, my face probably looked like a wreck, covered in bruises. But who cares? I was getting money for what I loved to do. I smiled brightly up at the people, and my muscles contracted in the strangest way, I was confused for a little, before realizing that I hadn't smiled for quite some time, my muscles were in shock. This only made me smile brighter than before. I wouldn't exactly call what I felt happy, my past still interfered with that, but you could call it hope. I saw the faintest glimmer of promising light at the end of the long, dark, tunnel.

BPOV

I entered my house, feeling awkward, it was dusk, and Alice had just dropped me off in front of the door, smiling in a satisfied sort of way. She had attacked me again, meaning smothered me in makeup, and I couldn't wait to get inside and wash it ALL off. She had straightened my hair as well, and it felt weird not in it's usual ponytail. I groaned as I saw Jasper was still here, sitting at the table with Emmett. I tried to sneak past them, but of course, Em saw me.

"What _happened_ to you Bells?!" he asked, a shocked look on his face.

"Alice happened." I grumbled, crossing my arms. Jasper turned around to see what we were talking about, and gasped.

"Wow...Bella you look like a girl." he said in awe. I groaned again. Jasper was like a brother to me, and everyone knew Alice and him liked each other, I didn't need_ him_ ogling me as well. He kept staring, and I got a little uncomfortable, fidgeting with my straight hair. Emmett nudged Jasper.

"Ehem, that's my sister buddy." he said defensively, scowling at Jazz.

"Right...umm sorry." Jasper said, looking embarrased. I waved at them, and made my way upstairs to my room, eager to wash my face. I entered my bedroom, and changed out of my muddy sweats, dirty from the rain, and into some clean ones, before heading to the bathroom. I grabbed a washcloth, and scrubbed my face clean, getting every inch of eye shadow and mascara she had painted on me. I beamed up at myself in the mirror when I was finished, seeing my usual self, no makeup, fresh and clean. I decided not to take a shower tonight, keeping my hair straight. I sighed as I made my way into my father's bedroom to say good night, I was exhausted. I reached his door, and peeked inside.

"Goodnight dad." I whispered.

"Night Bells." He said sleepily back. I smiled, and called down the stairs.

"Goodnight guys, I'm pooped." I said, and they called back, distracted with their card game. I trudged to my room, and collapsed on the bed, letting the soft quilt envelop me, shaping itself to my body. I sighed happily, turned off my lamp, and fell deeply asleep.

"Bella!" whispered a masculin voice...I was too tired to bother with opening my eyes. "Bellaaa!!" it said again, demanding. I groaned, and my eyelids fluttered open, glancing at my bedside clock, I saw that it was 1 in the morning. I looked up, and saw Emmett and Jasper crouched down in my doorway, dressed in sweatshirts and jeans. I sat up, and stared at them, angry that they had disturbed my sleep.

"WHAT do you want?!" I whispered angrily, through my teeth.

"C'mon Bells, we're sneaking out, come with us!" Said Emmett, smiling mischevously. I groaned.

"There's a party down at the park...Mike will be there." Jasper said, throwing me an offer I could hardly resist. Mike got my mind thinking about that kiss the other night...But that wasn't me. I wasn't the kind of girl who snuck out late at night. I was a good girl. Wasn't I? I bit my lip, debating...I heard my dad give a grunting snore from the next room, and made up my mind. I hopped out of bed, gave my hair a quick brush, slipped on a hoodie, and followed Emmett and Jazz out my door, tip toe-ing down the stairs. My stomach had butterflies, I had never done anything like this before, it made me a little scared, and also excited. We all three slipped outside, into the night air, and crept cautiously down the street, until we where safely out of hearing range. Emmett sighed heavily.

"We did it!" he said, smiling brightly. Jasper wooped, clapping Em on the back. I walked behind them, shooting paranoid glances every which way, while they talked and laughed freely. We arrived at the park, and I saw Jessica Stanley, my arch enemy, standing by a tree with Anegla, a nice girl in some of my classes. I saw Eric and Tyler, laughing with Ben and another guy I didn't know. I even saw Rosalie, looking striking, sitting by the fountain. I looked furtively around, where was Mike? I followed Em and Jazz into the midst of people, and spotted him, with Lauren Mallory, Jessica's best friend. I glared at her, and Mike came up to me. I smiled shyly.

"Hey..." I said, looking up at him. He grabbed me around the waist, and pulled me close to him. He smelt like beer, a stale musty smell I didn't like at all. Where had they gotten the alcohol? I gagged a little as another wiff of the aroma made it's way to my nostrils.

"Bella!" said Mike, slurring my name so that it sounded like 'Bellaz'. I grimaced as his arm tightened around my waist. Mike was babbling on about something, and then he swung me around, and pressed his lips to mine, grabbing my face. I struggled, slapping his cheek, but he was stronger than me, and he kissed me sloppily. I knew this was NOT what I wanted, and tried to escape, but gave up on the third attempt. I was starting to lose hope, and was considering waiting for him to lose interest, when the sound of flesh hitting flesh cracked in the air. Emmett stood over Mike's limp body, slumped onto the ground, his towering form livid. Lauren screamed, and I glared at her again.

"What the hell dude!" said Emmett, enraged. "Bella what was happening? Why were you kissing him?" questioned Emmett angrily.

"I was not kissing him! He was kissing me!" I nearly shouted at my brother. He winced.

"Sorry Bells." he apologized. I nodded, crossing my arms.

"Thank you." I said gratefully, and Emmett shrugged. Mike stirred, and Emmett crouched down beside him.

"You kiss my sister again, and you'll get much worse than that, buddy." he said, staring Mike down. Mike nodded weakly, shooting me a black glare. I returned it, grinding my teeth.

"Em, I'm leaving, I don't want to be here anymore." I said, looking at him pointedly. "And if you drink anything tonight, dad will find out, and he won't be happy." I warned him, and he nodded, rolling his eyes.

"Bella, you know I never do." he said, looking at me meaningfuly, and I knew he meant it. "Jasper on the other hand..." he said, chuckling. I glanced over to where Jasper was sitting with Tyler, chugging a beer. I grimaced.

"Be careful please." I said, and Emmett nodded. I waved, and turned around, headed back towards my place. I walked quickly, eager to get back to bed. I was definately never doing that again...ever.

**THANKS! Reviews? **


	3. Chapter 3 Arriving

**HEY GUYS I KNOW IT'S BEEN A LOOOOOOOOOOONNNNGGG TIME SINCE UPDATED THIS STORY! I'm so sorry :( But here's the next chapter...**

EPOV

I zipped my guitar into my case, and sighed. Today had been a rough day, my second day busking. It had been deathly hot all day, and the back of my neck was severely burned. But now it was dark, and the promising cool of the night crept up slowly upon the town. I sat myself down underneath a tree, and smiled lazily. My stomach grumbled loudly, in need of food, but I couldn't spare any extra money right now, so I would just have to survive. I pulled all of my beat up bills out of my pocket, the money from lawn mowing, and busking these past two days, and started to count it. When I was finished, hope brimmed up inside me, larger than before, and I smiled. I had 400 dollars in total, enough for transport to the airport, and a flight down to Washington. I stashed it safely inside my backpack, and settled myself down for a night's rest, tomorrow I would take a taxi cab to the airport, and I'd be on my way to a better life...

The morning sun shone through my eyelids, and I opened them sleepily, rubbing out the crusty bits. I sat up, and swayed. It was hot, I was thirsty, and my stomach was begging for something to eat. This was hell. But at the thought of leaving Alabama, I perked up slightly, and stood up, flattening the wrinkles in my shirt, and smoothing my bronze hair. I needed to get going almost immediately, and walked slowly towards the road, flagging down a rusty old taxi. I climbed in the back, and the driver smiled at me, his wrinkled face tired looking.

"Where too, sonny?" He asked in a friendly way. I cleared my throat.

"The-the, umm airport?" I said, and he nodded.

"Alrighty." he said, and started to drive. We passed the town boundaries, and drove along dry roads, passing several farms, cows grazing in the lush fields. I sighed, and looked behind me, I could still see the faint outline of the town, fading into the distance. I was leaving it behind forever, never to go back. It was a relieving thought.

"You look rough, son. What happened to yer?" asked the driver gruffly.

"Oh...nothing." I said quietly. He sighed, and shook his head.

"You're James Cullen's boy aren't you?" He questioned gently, looking at me in the rear view mirror,

"Y-yes. Please don't bring me back to him." I said quickly, then covering my mouth.

"I had no intention of doing so. We all knew James and Lily had a son, but after Lily left, we hardly ever saw you anymore, boy." He said, sympathetically. I nodded, looking down. "We saw you doing our lawns, working hard every day, going to school, carrying your guitar everywhere. We saw the bruises on your face, and the cuts on your arms, and knew what must be going on. I reported o'l James to the police once or twice myself, but they never saw reason." He said gently, shaking his head again. "Damn smart idea, running away. I would if I was you. Leave and never look back, I would. The way I see it, I'm doing yer a favour." he said, smiling slightly. I smiled back at him.

"Thank you, very much." I said sincerely. He shrugged, and pulled up in front of a dingy launch pad, and concrete building.

"Well, here we are, son. You take good care of yourself, now." he said, and I nodded, smiling. He handed me a hundred dollar bill. "Here, this is the least I can do." he said, pushing the money on me. I gave him a grateful look, thanked him, and hurried to buy myself a ticket. The driver didn't drive away until he saw that I was safely inside the building, and I waved at him. He saluted me, and drove off down the road. I walked slowly up to the front desk, and cleared my throat. The middle aged woman behind the desk looked lazily at me.

"You looking for something, Junior?" she asked, chuckling. I glared.

"No, I would like to buy a ticket to Washington, please." I said, holding out my money. She sniffed indignantly, took the money from my hands, and typed something up on her screen. She grumbled, and clicked around for a while. I sighed, and she handed me a slip of white paper. She pointed me in the right direction, and I followed her directions, sitting down in one of the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. I leaned back gratefully, and closed my eyes. I was drifting off, when I reminded myself that I needed to stay awake, or else I would miss my flight. I grumbled, and sat straighter in the chair. It seemed like hours later that the voice on the overhead announced that my flight was boarding. I jumped up, and followed the flow of people, onto the small plane. I only had my small backpack, and no other luggage to worry about. I sat down in one of the cushy airplane seats, and settled in for a long flight.

BPOV

I stretched in bed, and yawned. I looked to my side, and saw Emmett, sleeping soundly with his mouth open, his foot falling off the bed. I smiled and shook my head, shaking him awake.

"May I ask why you're in my bed?" I said, and he grinned.

"Sorry Bells. I got home late last night. Your bed is comfier than mine." He told me, bouncing up and down a little. I giggled.

"Okay." I got up, and pulled a hoodie on over top of my tank top. "Did Jazz go home last night?" I asked.

"I think so." He said, scratching his head. "He went with Rose."

"He didn't get too drunk did he?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well..." Emmett grimaced.

"I don't need you to answer that one." I said, grinning, and he smiled back. It was Sunday, and we still had no school, I thought happily, jumping down the stairs. Emmett tagged behind, and we raced to the couch. I got there first, and grabbed the remote. "Beat you!" I gloated, and he groaned.

"For once." He said, and I smiled smugly. Emmett and I raced every Sunday morning to the T.V, because that's when the morning news was on. Our mother was a reporter on that news show, and we watched her every time she was on, not out of devotion, mostly out of curiosity. She had left when we were very little, almost too little to remember her, and it was comforting to see her smile, and laugh fakely at the other reporter's jokes. We turned it on, and sank back into the couch, sighing. We watched her segment, and then got ourselves breakfast. The phone rang shrilly, and I picked it up, it was Rose.

"Hey." I said, holding the phone with my shoulder, and taking a bite of a banana.

"Hey. I just wanted to know if you and Em wanted to come hang out." She said.

"Sure." I said, passing Emmett the phone. He proceeded to take it upstairs, and have a half hour conversation with her. I smiled as he came down, and I was already dressed in jeans and a sweater. He rolled his eyes, and ran back upstairs to put on some clothes. When he came back, all dressed and ready, we left together, locking up the house and walking down the street.

"We're meeting them at the store." Emmett said, whistling as he stuck his hands in his pocket.

"Okay." I said amicably. There really wasn't much to do in Forks, so the local community center or store had to suffice. We entered through the doors, and spotted Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie. We went to sit down with them. I noticed that Jasper looked particularly tired.

"Hungover, Jazz?" I asked. He grinned lazily.

"You could say that." He said, and I laughed. Jasper smiled. Just then, I looked up. There he was, looking at me. He looked about our age, with light muscles and messy bronze hair. His eyes shone green, and his skin was pale and in some places, bruised. He was gorgeous, and filling a shopping basket with food. I had never seen him around before, where could he be from? I knew he didn't go to our school.

"This is boring, who wants to go get coffee?" Rosalie asked. Everyone agreed, and stood up, heading outside. I looked back over my shoulder at the bronze haired boy, and smiled. He just stared, and then continued on with his shopping.

EPOV

Everything was green. Moss was everywhere, hanging off trees and stuck to rocks. It was beautiful. When I had gotten off the plane, it had smelt like nothing I had ever smelt before, like fresh air and pine trees. I had climbed into a taxi with a grin plastered on my face, I was miles and miles away from my father, and about to start a new life.

"Where are you going?" The taxi driver asked.

"The nearest Motel?" I said with a slight questioning edge, excited.

"In Forks or Seattle?" He asked. Not knowing what those were, I chose the first.  
"Umm...Forks please." He nodded and pulled out from the airport. Now I was seated in the back of the cab, taking in my surroundings. We drove past a library and a high school. There was a grocery store and small police office, and as far as I could tell, not much else. This was good. Small was good. Good for starting fresh. The cab driver dropped me off at a small motel, and I thanked him and checked in. I flopped down on the generic looking bed, and sighed. I closed my eyes, and just enjoyed the sensation of the mattress soft underneath my sore back. I grinned, and sat up again. I checked my wallet. I only had about 100 dollars left. A weak feeling came over my stomach, that wasn't very much. I got up, and decided to make the best of it, I might as well buy some cheap food. I think I remembered where the grocery store was. I looked in the mirror, and decided there was nothing I could do about the bruise on my face. I changed into a dark green shirt, and headed out. I made the short walk to the store, breathing in the cool air. I entered the store, and looked around, It was pretty generic, shelves and high ceilings. Smelt like cold freezer air. There were bored looking cashiers, seniors making their way slowly across the aisles, mother's with screaming toddlers, and in one corner, a group of teenagers about my age. There was a muscular brown haired boy, who was laughing loudly beside a pretty blond. Beside them, on a bench sat a skinny, ash blond haired boy who looked a little hungover, and a brown haired girl. She was very pretty, with dark eyes and creamy skin. She was laughing at something the blond boy had said, and he smiled at her. I had an overwhelming urge to know if they were dating. I tore my eyes away from them. I had never had real friends before, here was the perfect opportunity, and I had lost it. I caught the brown haired girl looking at me as she and her friends left the store. She gave me a small smile and hurried after them. I watched them go, and then sighed, walking through the aisles and filling my basket with chips and fruit, the cheapest things in the store.


End file.
